* Speaking of, did they ever run all 14 years of RH? I realize 1981-1987 were not great years for this show, but it annoys me how each cycle just stops at '81 or so then resets itself to "day one" w/o any explanations as to what happened in the show's final years.

I've heard it was because of music licensing

SoapNet had SO MUCH potential.

Well...

I'll say this much: it filled a particular niche that wasn't otherwise represented in the cable TV landscape. However, even under the best circumstances, there's a true downside to re-airing soaps, which I'll explain in a moment.

Speaking of, since I'm feeling listy, what are all the soaps that have been rerun in some way besides special marathons...

Dark Shadows (syndication, PBS, Sci-Fi Channel)

Texas (TBS)

Search for Tomorrow (USA)

The Edge of Night (USA)

Generations (BET)

Ryan's Hope (SOAPnet)

Another World (SOAPnet)

Port Charles (SOAPnet)

Passions (Sci-Fi Channel)

Is that it? This is our proof that soap reruns are an entirely bad option? They have got to do better than that.

Well, as far as re-airing classic soaps go, DARK SHADOWS remains the biggest success story. For years, the complete series was available on videotape (and later, on DVD). Not to mention, they were a staple of Sci-Fi's morning lineup for a very long time, back when Sci-Fi was "Sci-Fi," and not "Syfy." Ergo, they had plenty of exposure and influence over the public. But even that success was due more to the show's inherent kitsch and late-'60's nostalgia factor than to anything else. (I mean, if you watched DS on a regular basis and thought it was the best-written, best-acted and best-produced soap ever, then...well...I'm not gonna say anything more about that, lol.)

The truth is, it's never going to be easy to convince any network to run even one classic soap, b/c the pickings, if you will, are pretty damn slim.